The discussion will probably continue in regards to which is more important, a hit or a walk. It makes sense to say that getting on first base any way you can is very beneficial to any team. Batters that have a very good knowledge of the strike zone are clearly assets to their teams. They always were. Getting on base is important, but is it in any ways over valued now as opposed to the way it was looked at years ago?There was a offensive revolution in the 1890's that had nothing to do with players hitting home runs. The 1893 Baltimore Orioles of the National League won 60 games and lost 70 under manager Ned Hanlon. For the season, they walked 539 times, struck out 323 times, and stole 233 bases. Their team batting average was .275 and on base percentage was .359 for an on base over batting average of +84. A year later, the Orioles went 89-39, winning the National League Pennant and finishing the season with 516 walks, just 200 strikeouts and 324 stolen bases. They hit .343 as a team and had an on base percentage of .418, which gave them a BA>OB of +85. Whether it was the fact that the Orioles got a hit seven percent more of the time or were on base six percent more of the time, the bottom line was both probably contributed heavily in the Orioles having a sixty game swing from 1893 to 1894. I am sure that during this time, the expression was made, "a walk is as good as a hit." The expression is no different than the one that kids hear in Little League and though it is not as often spoken on the field in a major league baseball game today, a guy getting on base is important any way one can. You can hear it coming from the dugout, "Good eye!" Generally speaking, the better hitters in the game historically have high batting averages. Because of their high batting averages, it is likely their on base percentage can be close to or over .400 for their careers. Ted Williams, for example, hit .344 for his career and his .482 on base percentage is the highest in baseball history. Williams' career BA>OB is an impressive 137. In the history of baseball, there have been only 56 players have a career on base percentage of over .400. There are two active players with OBP's over .400. Using my own research (this leaves open the possibility I could have missed somebody.), I have found only five players to have a BA>OB over 140. And the conclusions are not that impressive. Eddie Yost played 18 seasons in the big leagues mostly for the Washington Senators and finished his career with a .254 batting average. However, he also finished his career with a .394 on base percentage for a BA>OB of +140. In the 19th century, there was a player by the name of Bill Joyce. He started his career in 1890 playing in the players' league for the Brooklyn Ward's Wonders. He would later play for the Boston Reds of the major league American Association before finishing his career in the National League playing for Brooklyn, Washington, and New York. He hit .293 for his career but had a .435 OBP for a +142 BA>OB. The next player on the list became an immortal because of his home run numbers (mostly later on in his career) and became the most feared hitter the game has ever seen. Williams had four seasons where he had an OBP over .500 (one of them was a shortened season where he had just 110 at bats because he was fighting a mission in Korea. Barry Bonds had four STRAIGHT seasons of an OBP over .500 from 2001-2004. Bonds finished his career with an OBP of .444, and has more walks than anyone in the history of major league baseball. His career BA is .298, which means he has a career BA>OB of 146. If I gave you a guess of who had the top two BA>OB numbers in baseball history, I would get a lot of wrong guesses. The tops of all time (based off of my research) is Max Bishop, who spent most of his career with Connie Mack and the Philadelphia Athletics in the 1930's. Bishop hit a respectable .271 for his career, but had an on base percentage of .423 for a BA>OB of 151. The player who is second on this list is none other than Gene Tenace, who had a batting average of .241, but an OBP of .388 for a BA>OB of 147. Here is the top five.Max Bishop (1924-1935) .271 BA .423 OBP +151 BA>OBGene Tenace (1969-1983) .241 BA .388 OBP +147 BA>OBBarry Bonds (1986-2006) .298 BA .444 OBP +146 BA>OBBill Joyce (1890-1898) .293 BA .435 OBP +142 BA>OBEddie Yost (1944-1962) .254 BA .394 OBP +140 BA>OBAs you can see, the top five cover a good amount of major league history. In fact, not a single player in the top five played a game in the same year as another. Los Angeles Angels outfielder Mike Trout finished 2017 with a batting average of .306, but an OBP of .444. This gave him a BA>OB of 136 for the season. In his career, it is just +104, down from the career mark of 115 that Cincinnati Reds first baseman Joey Votto has.

Two immediate things come to mind when thinking about the 2017 Boston Red Sox. The first thing is, though the loss of franchise icon David Ortiz to retirement is going to be felt by the organization, the players, and its fans, the Red Sox will still score a lot of runs without him. I am not a big triple slash fan, but Ortiz managed a line of .315, .401, .620 (batting average, on base percentage, slugging percentage) during his last big league season. To put it in proper perspective, Ortiz' last season can be compared fairly to that of another Boston legend, Ted Williams. In Williams' final season of 1960, he finished with a triple slash line of ..315, .451, .645. The other thing worth mentioning is the Red Sox pitching, which seemed to get a lot better after the acquisition of left hander Chris Sale from the Chicago White Sox. Adding one of the best pitchers in baseball to a team that already has the reining Cy Young Award winner in Rick Porcello gives the Red Sox a distinct advantage over just about any team in the American League. However, playing devils advocate for a second, what if Sale becomes just a slight upgrade over incumbent left handed ace David Price? Losing Price for a little bit of time (perhaps the first month or so of the season) is one thing, but what happens if Price's 2017 season ends without him on the mound in a major league game that often? Maybe he can use some rest during the season and the Red Sox would be better off with Price at full strength come playoff time, but the Red Sox have to get there first. The Red Sox would be very top heavy without Price, especially with doubts concerning left hander Drew Pomeranz. A Red Sox rotation that consists of Porcello, Sale, Price and Pomeranz makes the fifth spot less important and also allows the possibility that Eduardo Rodriguez or Steven Wright can go under the radar this season. Pomeranz' status is a little more encouraging than that of Price, where the latter is at risk of missing a good chunk of this coming season. Pomeranz could be ready as early as April 9, but he may be out a little longer than that. Price, though he is on a throwing program to build up arm strength, is going to be out at least until the month of May, likely longer. The Red Sox added first baseman Mitch Moreland as a free agent from the Texas Rangers. Moreland, he of a .233 batting average in 2016, has hit 20 or more home runs in his last three healthy seasons. Boston also made a trade with the Milwaukee Brewers for right handed reliever Tyler Thornburg, who made a huge impact on the Crew last season. Thornburg struck out 90 batters in 67 innings pitched and finished with a 2.13 earned run average and a 0.940 walks and hits per innings pitched. Thornburg joins a bullpen led by Craig Kimbrel, who despite becoming a little more hit-able over the past two seasons, still misses bats and has one of the best strikeout per nine inning percentages in all of baseball. Right handers Joe Kelly and Matt Barnes are worth watching this season, as the former may have finally found himself as a short reliever and Barnes has strong odds of building on the success of his first full big league season. Carson Smith, the right handed pitcher acquired in the 2015-2016 off season trade from the Seattle Mariners, had Tommy John surgery last year but could return in May or June of this season. If that happens, a combination of Kimbrel, Thornburg, Smith, Kelly, and Barnes could be the best set of five relievers the game has today. Left handed pitcher Robbie Ross serves that role with Robby Scott making the team as a second LOOGY (left handed only one out guy). It looks as if righty Heath Hembree and lefty Fernando Abad have a good shot of making the opening day roster as well. The Red Sox will add Andrew Benintendi to the growing mix of their solid, young position players. The left fielder qualifies as a rookie this year and is expected to be one of the best young players in baseball. Center fielder Jackie Bradley Jr hit 26 home runs, drove in 87 runs and scored 94 more last season. Right fielder Mookie Betts is becoming one of the best players in the entire sport, coming off a season in which he hit .318 with 31 home runs, 118 RBI, 122 runs scored, 214 hits and 42 doubles. Moreland playing first base allows for Hanley Ramirez to be the full time designated hitter. Han-Ram had a solid season as the team's first baseman in 2016, hitting 30 home runs, driving in 111 and scoring another 81. Dustin Pedroia hit a quiet .318 and also managed to score over 100 runs and have over 200 hits. Shortstop Xander Bogaerts had 192 hits, drove in 89 runs last season and also scored another 115.The Red Sox lineup is as solid as there is in the game, but there is every reason to question what projected starting third baseman Pablo Sandoval has left. One of the better postseason players in recent memory; if he was judged by his performance last season (3 games, 6 at bats, 4 Ks, 0 hits), one would just chalk that up to being out because of an injury. His injury last year, however, was a little bit mysterious. It started when the Red Sox announced that Travis Shaw (since traded to the Milwaukee Brewers as part of the deal that brought in Thornburg) would be the team's starting third baseman. Questions arose over why Pablo was placed on the disabled list until it was announced that he would have exploratory surgery on his shoulder, ending his season. The switch hitter has come into camp this season in very good shape and has performed well this spring. Catcher Sandy Leon kind of came out of nowhere last season to hit .310 and have 26 extra base hits in 78 games. Leon was just a .238 hitter in his career in the minor leagues, including a paltry .244 for the Triple- A Pawtucket Red Sox last season. The team still likes Christian Vazquez, once a top catching prospect, but really lacks depth at the position especially if Leon is not an impact-full offensive player, which he should not be. The Red Sox lineup could look like this: Bogaerts SS, Pedroia 2B, Betts RF, Hamirez DH, Bradley CF, Benintendi LF, Sandoval 3B, Moreland 1B, Leon/ Vazquez C. All Star utility man Brock Holt leads a bench which includes veteran Chris Young and Bryce Brentz. Infielder Josh Rutledge looked like he was going to make the team until he got hurt, so expect to see him in Fenway at some point of the season. The Red Sox still have a pretty strong farm system, led by Benintendi, who will not be considered a prospect for long. Third baseman Rafael Devers and first baseman Sam Travis should be ready to debut this season and be regulars in 2018. The Red Sox took third baseman Bobby Dalbec in the fourth round of the 2016 draft. Dalbec has power compared to that of Cubs 3B Kris Bryant, but the question is whether he projects as a MLB third baseman. It should also be worth noting that first baseman Josh Ockimey and Nick Longhi could get even better as they continue to develop. This could give the Red Sox a problem that few would be upset about, but one which would force Dave Dombrowski and his staff to make some big decisions in regards to which players to keep and which ones to trade. I felt ever since the Red Sox acquired Sale, they became the team to beat in the American League. The Price injury could allow, however, for some of the other top American League teams to gain some ground and possibly surpass Boston and their high status. It is hard to define anything this team does not have. They have good, young position players, deep pitching, and a front office not afraid to upgrade its roster come July. Add to it the fact that they still have a ton of depth in the minor leagues to trade from. Vegas puts the Red Sox at 90.5 for its over/ under. Though I will take the over, it is not by as much as could have been thought. I have the Red Sox at 92-70, first place in the American League East division and best record in the American League.

On October 11, 1948- exactly 31 years and 1 day before I was brought into this world, the Cleveland Indians won their last World Series Championship. The Indians had previously won the World Series in 1920, something they did for fallen SS Ray Chapman, who had died after being struck by a pitch in the head thrown by Boston Red Sox RHP Carl Mays. Of course, the Indians made it back to the World Series in 1954 then again in 1995 and 1997. Though the legendary Bob Feller lost both of his 1948 WS starts, the Indians prevailed over the Boston Braves of the National League. What stands out about the series is the fact that it is the last time Boston would represent the National League in the fall classic as they would start play in Milwaukee in 1953. This World Series could have been an even bigger one for the city of Boston. The AL's Red Sox finished the regular season in a tie for the American League top only to lose to the Indians in a one game playoff. Ted Williams had just played in his first World Series in 1946 and being on the near Pennant winning 1948 team was the closest the Splendid Splinter would get to another WS appearance. The rise to competition for the Boston Braves started with the adding of Billy Southworth as manager before the 1945 season. Southworth won two World Series Championships with the St Louis Cardinals in 1942 and 1944. Coming into 1948, the Braves were led by 1947 MVP 3B Bob Elliott and OF Tommy Holmes, who finished 2nd in the 1945 MVP race. And of course, the longtime baseball expression of "Spahn and Sain and pray for rain" told you everything you needed to know about the pitching staff of the Boston Braves- though they had a little more talent than the expression would suggest. They made a trade with the Brooklyn Dodgers for 2B Eddie Stanky after Brooklyn decided to move forward with 1947 Rookie of the Year Jackie Robinson as their starting 2B. Also helping the cause for the Braves was rookie SS Alvin Dark, whose .322 average and 175 hits helped him gain the honors as the second ever Rookie of the Year (Robinson was the first). The later part of the 1940s and the majority of the 1950s belonged to New York baseball. From the years of 1947-1958, the New York Yankees would win 7 World Series and appear in two others. The Brooklyn Dodgers would have their best run during that time, winning the WS in 1955 and winning the NL Pennant in 1947, 1949, 1952, 1953 and 1956. The New York Giants would win the World Series in 1954, against the Indians, while also winning the NL Pennant in 1951. Overall, out of the 24 possible Pennants from either the NL or AL during that time frame, the Yankees, Dodgers or Giants won a whopping 17 of them! And 9 of the 12 World Series Championships. Obviously, the significance of this particular World Series would not be known until the latter part of the 1950s as it marked the only time a New York team was not representing either league. With no disrespect meant towards the Indians, it would have made it cooler if the Red Sox played the Braves, just like when Southworth's Cardinals played the St Louis Browns in 1944. The Indians were certainly a worthy opponent as well as a solid representative of the American League. Feller and Bob Lemon led the pitching staff and their lineup featured future Hall of Famers Larry Doby, and SS/ manager Lou Boudreau as well as power hitting 1B Eddie Robinson (a guest on the Passed Ball Show). It was Boudreau's 2 HRs and a solid performance by 20 game winner Gene Bearden that led the Indians past the Joe McCarthy led Red Sox team in the one game playoff. Satchel Paige being part of the mix placed an impressive eight Hall of Famers in this matchup. The first four games demonstrated the talent of the great pitchers showcased in this series. Sain beat Feller 1-0 in game one, while Lemon scattered 8 hits in a complete game win in game two. Bearden went the distance on a 5 hit shutout in game three while Steve Gromek out-dueled Sain in a 2-1 victory to give the Indians a 3 games to 1 lead. What makes the Indians success even more amazing, especially thinking about today's baseball, is how the Indians used four different starting pitchers, each of whom throwing a complete game- in succession. Game 5 was the antithesis of games 1-4. Nels Potter got the start for Boston and he was out in the 4th inning with the Indians leading the game 5-4. Feller was pitching for the Indians and he was prone to the longball- Elliott took him deep with a 3-run shot in the first inning and catcher Bill Salkeld (grandfather of former MLB pitcher Roger Salkeld- a guest on the Passed Ball Show) hit a solo homer in the 3rd. Elliott's second HR of the game, a solo shot of Feller, tied the score at 5 in the 6th. The Braves then responded with a 6 run outburst in the 7th inning off Feller and three relievers- including Paige- to take a commanding 11-5 lead. To put the scoring barrage in perspective, Boston had scored just 4 runs... IN THE FIRST FOUR GAMES OF THE SERIES! Warren Spahn was the star of the day as he came on in relief in the 4th and went the rest of the way shutting out the Tribe. In 5 2/3 innings, Spahn gave up just 1 hit and 1 walk- while striking out 7 for the Braves. Perhaps trying to give Sain the necessary rest to pitch a potential game 7, Southworth would go to Bill Voiselle- his 5th different starting pitcher in 6 World Series games- to match up against Lemon. A Boudreau double would put Cleveland on top 1-0, with the Braves tying it up in the bottom of the 4th. Joe Gordon led off the 6th with a HR off Voiselle to put the Tribe on top again. Before the inning was over, the Indians had a 3-1 lead. A Robinson single made it 4-1, which came off of Spahn who relieved Voiselle to start the 8th. Lemon got into a little trouble to start the 8th for Cleveland. A one out double put runners at 2nd and 3rd and over came Boudreau to take out Lemon and replace him with Bearden. A sac fly and a double put tying run at second with two outs. Bearden retired Mike McCormick on a comebacker to end the inning. Stanky led off the 9th with a walk, but Bearden got Sibby Sisti to pop a bunt into a doubleplay and Holmes out on a flyball to end the game. The Indians, for the first time since 1920, were World Series Champions. Of course, the next four seasons would be the last National League baseball played in the city of Boston. However, this should be a team that should always be remembered. Johnny Antonelli was the youngest to play for the Braves at age 18. Frank McCormick, a backup 1B, was the oldest player at age 37. Sadly, first hand memories of this team would start to die off during the decade of the 1960s. First was Bickford, who died of stomach cancer at the age of 39 in 1960. Next was utility player/ pitcher Al Lyons who passed away in 1965, followed by Elliott in 1966. Then, it was Salkeld who passed away in 1967. Clyde Shoun, a left handed reliever, had the distinction of being one of the few MLB players to pass away on their birthday. Unfortunately, he was just 56 when he died on March 20, 1968. Finally, in July of 1969, LHP Glenn Elliott died of a brain tumor and lung cancer, followed by the manager Southworth in November. The trade that brought the Braves Stanky from the previous NL Champion Dodgers included 1B Ray Sanders. Sanders was an everyday player for Southworth's Cardinals, playing in the World Series from 1942-1944. Stanky was dealt from Brooklyn to Boston with a player to be named later for three players, one of whom was Sanders on March 8th. On April 18th, the Dodgers sent the PTBNL to the Braves and it was... Sanders. For the record, both Antonelli and back up OF Clint Conatser are still alive from the 1948 Braves ballclub. As we all know, the Boston Braves moved to Milwaukee for the 1953 season, where they remained through 1965. Of course, they were in two World Series playing in Milwaukee, winning in 1957 and losing the following season in 1958. Since they moved to Atlanta, they won the NL West division in 1969, then again from 1991-1993, appearing in the World Series in 1991 and 1992. They, of course, won the World Series in 1995, then won the NL East every season through 2005. Unfortunately, they only appeared in two more World Series, losing both in 1996 and 1999 to the New York Yankees. While in Boston, they only appeared in two WS, the first being the miracle team of 1914, which shocked the world by defeating the heavily favorited Philadelphia Athletics. And, as we all know, the Athletics had a similar moving path relocated first to Kansas City in 1955, then to Oakland in 1968.

In January of last year, I had the opportunity to interview a LHP who pitched for the Washington Senators. His time in the major leagues consisted of exactly two starts in 1964. Don Loun made his MLB debut on September 30, 1964 against the Boston Red Sox. He would throw a complete game shutout, winning the game 1-0, giving up just 5 hits and walking no one. His next start, which turned out to be his last in the big leagues, resulted in a 7-0 loss to the same Boston team as Don game up 4 runs (3 earned) in 4 innings pitched.

A similar story to that of Loun was about a RHP who pitched for the Boston Red Sox over a decade before Don. Harley Hisner passed away this week at the age of 88. Harley spent 7 seasons in the minor leagues from 1947-1953. It was the last game of the 1951 season where Harley got his chance to pitch, against the New York Yankees of all teams. Because it was the last game of the season, Hisner did not get the best of the Red Sox behind him, with Ted Williams, Bobby Doerr and Johnny Pesky among those not starting the game. In fact, manager Steve O'Neill started six position players who had all failed to hit even .200. The same could not be said about the lineup Yankees manager Casey Stengel put out. The two time defending World Series Champions were awaiting the winner of the three game playoff between the Brooklyn Dodgers and New York Giants to see who they would be playing in this year's fall classic. Casey refused to rest his regulars, instead starting a lineup that featured five future Hall of Famers. Mickey Mantle led off in RF, followed by SS Phil Rizzuto. Then it was LF Hank Bauer, who would be an All Star from the years of 1952-1954. Joe DiMaggio would bat cleanup in CF, followed by 1B Johnny Mize. C Yogi Berra batted 6th, followed by 3B Bobby Brown, 2B Jerry Coleman and the pitcher Spec Shea. This game seemed like a mismatch, one that Hisner- though probably happy he was finally pitching in a MLB game- could have felt overwhelmed. The Red Sox started out their half of the first inning with a single and a walk. A double play ended the threat. The Yankees came up in the bottom of the first and after Hisner struck Mantle out, he gave up a single to Rizzuto. After Bauer was retired, Joe D came up and laced a single to LF. He got Mize out to end the threat. The following Yankees inning saw them score a run on singles by Berra and Brown and a sacrifice fly by Coleman. He did strike out Mantle once again to end the frame. The Yankees started off their 3rd with a single by Rizzuto and after Bauer grounded into a fielders choice, Hisner walked DiMaggio. Mize would get an infield hit to load the bases for Berra, who singled to score Bauer and DiMaggio. The Yankees had themselves a 3-0 lead. DiMaggio would be removed from the game after the inning. What stood out about the DiMaggio at bat was the fact it was his last in a regular season game. His first inning hit was also his last in the regular season (Joe D was 6-23 with a HR and 5 RBI in the 6 game World Series). Harley Hisner was the last regular season pitcher to face Joe DiMaggio. Perhaps DiMaggio leaving the game after the 3rd inning was luck for Hisner. The very next inning, the Yankees loaded the bases with one out. Up came Archie Wilson, the OF who came in to replace DiMaggio. Wilson would hit into a double play to end the threat. The 5th inning would result in Hisner getting three fly ball outs from Mize, Berra and Brown. On the other side, it was Shea really having no trouble with this weak Red Sox lineup. Shea would leave the game after 5 scoreless innings, giving way to late season acquisition Johnny Sain. Hisner, himself would get through the 6th inning with the help of another double play before exiting the game. Hisner's line was 6 innings pitched, three runs, 7 hits, 4 walks and three Ks. Two of his Ks were in Mantle's first two at bats. RHP Harry Taylor, who would pitch in just another two MLB games himself, threw two scoreless innings to keep the Yankees off the board. Sain threw 4 scoreless for the save as the Yankees won the game 3-0. Over the course of Hisner's 7 seasons in the minor leagues, he finished with a 53-59 record and a 4.39 ERA in 181 games and just under 900 innings. He spent up through the 1952 season in the Red Sox organization, finishing 1952 with the unaffiliated San Digo Padres. His last season was in B League ball, pitching for Wichita Falls of the Big State League. They were an affiliate of the Milwaukee Braves, a team that had just moved west from Boston. Harley Hisner was a major part of two Championship teams, the 1948 Scranton Red Sox and the 1953 Wichita Falls Spudders. In spite of winning 14 games in 1953, he got no calls from any teams after the season and retired from baseball at the young age of 26. How many pitchers pitched in just one game against a lineup consisting of five future Hall of Famers? Probably not that many, if any. For a man who pitched just one game, he sure did have a lot of memories from it. He struck out Mickey Mantle twice and was the last regular season and American League pitcher to ever face Joe DiMaggio. Hisner spent over the next 60 years outside of baseball, but the memories of that one day led to many stories he had to tell. Johnny Sain was a very good pitcher in his own right, despite his best days in Boston being behind him. Johnny Mize was one of the best power hitters of his generation, with his career starting the same year as Joe D, in 1936. On a side note, Wilson, who came in the game to replace DiMaggio, was traded the next season along with Shea and OF Jackie Jensen, to the Red Sox as part of the deal for Irv Noren. Jensen was looked at as an extremely talented offensive player and thought was now incredible it would be to have an OF of Joe D, Mantle and Jensen. However, it only happen in 9 games of that season, the last being at the end of April. In fact, in spite of having Mantle and Jensen, the Yankees who played the most in the OF outside of DiMaggio were Gene Woodling and Bauer. Hisner returned to the Red Sox in 2012 in what was the 100th anniversary of Fenway Park. I'm sure he had a couple stories on what he used to K Mantle twice and whether he pitched around DiMaggio in that last at bat. Rest in peace.

A fair point has been made about the loser of the Super Bowl. Who really remembers who lost the 1985 Super Bowl to the Chicago Bears? Or the 1994 Super Bowl to the San Francisco 49ers? If you know the answer to those questions, good for you. The point is, even the great Minnesota Vikings and Buffalo Bills teams that lost four Super Bowls a piece get very little mention of their success because they never won the big one. The same can be said for the NBA Finals as well as the Stanley Cup Finals. The only exceptions in all three sports being if a team had won before or won after; then they get mentioned for being in the Championship game multiple times even though they only won once. Example- the recent Miami Heat, winners of two NBA Finals but made it to the Finals four years in a row. The same is not true regarding major league baseball and its World Series. Before I give my reasons, I want to make something very clear. In no sport is it a consolation to just make it into the Championship Series or Championship Game. There is no player that plays in any sport that will settle for just having the opportunity to play for the championship. Nobody battles for being the second best. Second place is the last to lose, or the first loser- depending on the way you look at it. There is no reason to glorify any team for losing the big game or the Championship Finals or Series. Few players have ever been satisfied by simply making it to the last round or game. Football, basketball and hockey are measured by the amount of titles you have. Since 12, 16 and 16 teams, respectively, make it to the postseason every year, just making it to the playoffs is not enough. This has allowed, on many occasions, for teams that may have not been the most dominant teams in their respective divisions and leagues to catch fire at the right time and compete for title at the expense of the more dominant regular season team. Now, if this Cinderella team happens to win the whole thing, all the more power to them. They get remembered for their Championship and get the credit they deserve. If you have a similar run and lose in the finals, nobody cares because, in their opinion, you never should have been playing for the Championship anyways. Baseball, with its new expanded playoff format, is starting to go in that direction. I still feel those who make it to the World Series get more credit that in other sports. The main reason has to do with the history of the sport. Through the 1968 season, only the top team in each respective league made it to the postseason. Their postseason consisted of the World Series, guaranteeing the loser the winning of their league's pennant. While the New York Yankees are remembered for the amount of World Series Championships they have won (maybe one of my readers can remind me what that number is again), it was their run of making it to the World Series all but three seasons from the years of 1947-1964 and all but two seasons from the years of 1949-1964 that is by far the most amazing run in the history of professional sports. Winning an 8 team league 15 out of 18 years and 14 out of 16 is something we will never see again. The same can be said about the 1991-2005 Atlanta Braves, who won three straight NL West titles, before embarking on an amazing 11 straight NL East titles. Of course, there are many holes in the Braves run of division championships. The first one was the 1994 baseball players strike and the cancellation of the 1994 postseason, which was not the Braves fault. The one held the most against them is the fact that though they managed to win all those consecutive division titles, they only won one World Series. And out of those 14 division championships, they only made it to the World Series 5 times. And they went from 1999-2005 without making it to the World Series at all in spite of winning the NL East each season. All of that being said, the Braves are still known for their great run- even though they only won one World Series Championship. The Braves are much more respected than the Buffalo Bills or the Minnesota Vikings. Then there were dem bums. The Brooklyn Dodgers were known for not winning the World Series, but it was well known that they made it for a series of years. Their motto was "wait until next year." They were celebrated in New York for being the best team that never won- until 1955. There was little negativity about the World Series losses in 1947, 1949, 1952 and 1953 (as well as 1941 and 1956). Perhaps the fans in New York understood that the Yankees simply were what they were. The fact that the Dodgers kept making it to the World Series was certainly known and was never forgotten. Two MLB teams stand out because they won a League Pennant, but not a World Series. In fact, these two teams have combined to never win a World Series in three total WS appearances. The 1984 San Diego Padres had a documentary done about them, something unprecedented for a team that never won a World Series. How many NFL, NBA and NHL teams that lost the Championship had a documentary done about them? The younger, computer-centric baseball fans applauds the Tampa Bay Rays for managing to stay competitive it spite of no financial flexibility. While some fans may not remember the exact year (1998), they know the Tampa Bay Rays have been to a World Series. Two of the three greatest position players to ever play baseball never won a World Series. Ty Cobb was part of three consecutive Detroit Tigers teams to lose in the years of 1907-1909 (Cubs, Cubs, Pirates). He was known for being part of those teams. The same can be said about Ted Williams, playing in his only Fall Classic in 1946, when the Boston Red Sox lost to the St Louis Cardinals. Because of that, the 1907-1909 Tigers and 1946 Red Sox are remembered for losing the World Series. Additionally, we will all remember the ball going through Bill Buckner's legs in game 6 of the 1986 World Series and Bill Mazeroski's HR off Ralph Terry in game 7 of the 1960 World Series. Because of those events, the fact that the Red Sox and Yankees lost is just as much remembered as the Mets and Pirates winning is. If nothing I have said convinces you that a World Series loser is remembered more than a loser in any other leagues' Championship Game/ Series, think about this. Who lost the 1919 World Series?

I'm sure the discussion can go on forever whether Shoeless Joe Jackson should ever be part of Baseball's Hall of Fame. One side of the argument states that Joe may not have been the brightest man and did not make the decision to be part of the Black Sox throwing of the 1919 World Series on his own. Those same people will point to the .375 batting average he had in the World Series and that there was no evidence of any questionable plays that would make the naked eye think he wasn't "on a level." The other side of the argument states the fact that he did receive money from gamblers and therefore was part of the fix of the 1919 World Series. Because of that, he deserves the penalty of being banned for life, just like the other seven ballplayers. Whatever your view on Joe Jackson being in the HOF is, there is no doubt he was one of the best hitters the game has ever seen. His .356 average ranks 3rd all time, trailing only Ty Cobb (.366) and Rogers Hornsby (.358). Babe Ruth himself admits to copying Jackson's hitting style because he was "the greatest hitter" he had ever seen. It is common knowledge that Jackson has the highest career batting average that is not in Baseball's Hall of Fame. What many do not know is that the player with the 4th highest career batting average is also not in the Hall. Lefty O'Doul hit .349 for his career. The reason he has not yet been enshrined is because the writers and the Veterans Committee feel he did not play long enough. Originally a pitcher for the Yankees and Red Sox in the early 1920s, O'Doul became a full time outfielder after he hurt his arm and could no longer pitch. After pitching through the 1923 season, he spent several years learning how to be a full time position player and hitter. By the time he returned to the big leagues in 1928, he was 31 with just 72 big league at bats under his belt- all as a pitcher. What the naysayers refuse to acknowledge is the fact that O'Doul came out like an animal when he returned to the big leagues. After setting a ridiculous pace in the minor leagues, Lefty hit .319 in his first season as an OF for the 1928 Giants in 114 games. After that season, he was traded to the Philadelphia Phillies where he hit an incredible .398, winning his first batting title. He followed that up by hitting .383 in 1930. He was then traded to the Brooklyn Robins in what was Wilbert Robinson's last season as a big league manager. He only hit .336 that season, but followed that up by winning his second batting title for the Dodgers in 1932 with a .368 average. What makes that run so unbelievable is that O'Doul had the highest batting average of any player over that span (1928-1932). Among notables that O'Doul topped were Yankees greats Ruth (.348) and Lou Gehrig (.349), former teammate Chuck Klein (.357) and Pirates legend Paul Waner (.348). O'Doul also managed to outhit Hornsby (.361), though Hornsby was nearing the end of his career. Unfortunately, O'Doul only played two more seasons in the big leagues. After getting off to a tough start for the Dodgers in 1933, hitting just .252 in 43 games, he was traded once again to the Giants- the team he started his comeback with. He hit .306 the rest of the way for the Giants and hit .316 in his final big league season with the Giants in 1934. He also got a hit in his only World Series at bat in 1933 (a 1.000 career postseason batting average). His parts of 6 other MLB seasons caused his average to drop from .365 to .349. And the fact that his career consisted of just his stretched out 11 seasons works against him. My case for O'Doul in the Hall is similar to a lot of cases I have made for other players. I like to use a comparison model to another player that is in the Hall. In this case, I am using the example of a player who similar to O'Doul, had a short MLB career. Like O'Doul, his career was made of a five year stretch where he was one of the best in the game. The only difference is this player set a home run record in the NL that lasted until Mark McGwire broke Roger Maris' single season HR record and a RBI record that remains to this day. Hack Wilson was O'Doul's teammate on the 1932 Dodgers. He hit .297 and drove in 123 runs and like O'Doul, was done playing in the big leagues after the 1934 season. Wilson's power numbers from 1926-1930 with the Cubs are as good as any who have ever played the game. Nobody has matched Wilson's 708 RBI over the course of 5 consecutive seasons (though Manny Ramirez' 662 from 1998-2002 was quite impressive). Wilson only played parts of 12 seasons in the big leagues but his impact will be remembered forever. The Veterans Committee could not hide the fact that Hack Wilson was a Hall of Famer, even if he did not play an incredibly long time. Hopefully the Veterans Committee can look at what O'Doul did in a similar limited window. Add in the fact that he spent several seasons learning how to be a position player after hurting his arm as a pitcher, and I am finding it more difficult to understand why he is left out. Batting averages as high as Lefty O'Doul's are hard to come by for a single season, let alone a career. That is what makes Ted Williams the greatest pure hitter the game has ever seen. Nobody else in the top ten career batting averages played a game after 1940. Williams' .344 career average is tied for 7th all time. Tony Gwynn is the most contemporary comparison as nobody since Williams has been as great of a pure hitter than Gwynn was. Gwynn's .338 career average is tied for 18th all time. Lefty O'Doul belongs in the Hall of Fame, as does Shoeless Jackson. The only difference is O'Doul is eligible. It is time to put the National League single season hits leader (250- since tied by Hall of Famer Bill Terry) where he belongs; with a plaque acknowledging him for being among the best in the game- even if it was for just a short time.

One of the things that has changed in the world of sports today is the fact that there is a separation between the seriousness of combat and the importance of representing our country and as opposed to the need to play sports professionally and earn a paycheck. There are a bunch of different ways we can look at this, though. The earning power a professional athlete has leaves the opportunity for most successful ballplayers to not have to work another major job once they have finished playing. One major multi million dollar contract and the player could put aside that nest egg and support them self and their family for years. Because of that, some of the players that may have been enticed to enlist in the military because of the potential of career opportunities will now find it not necessary. In addition, it makes sense for players to keep themselves out of harms way, as any type of military related training would run the risk of having their sports contract voided completely. The more we look at the past conflicts the United States of America has endured in its history, mainly World War I, World War II and the conflict in Korea, the easier it is to appreciate the men and women who support and are part of our military today. The ones who go to combat and are risking losing their lives everyday are doing it by choice- which is why each of us own them a debt of gratitude. The separation I was talking about in the first paragraph also applies to the rest of the country that are not professional athletes. In the past, because of the draft, so many more people were taken from all different professions and served in the military. For those of us who are not subject to the draft of many years ago, we should all be grateful. Looking back at World War I, World War II and the Korean War, players in Major League Baseball abandoned their jobs playing professional baseball to serve their country in war. You don't have to go far to know the likes of Ted Williams, Bob Feller and Jerry Coleman- all of whom not only served their country, but put themselves in extreme harms way in doing so. Credit is deserved to all of those who put their lives on hold to risk the thought of being killed or dying in combat at any moment. But what about the ones who left to serve in a war and did not return? What it said on the back of their "baseball card" didn't really matter as they would not be able to resume their career. In addition, there were many players who were injured while serving and either could not resume their playing career or were not nearly the same ballplayer when they returned. On this date in 1918, MLB OF Tom Burr, who had played in one MLB game for the Yankees in 1914 before enlisting in 1917, was killed in a plane accident in France. A total of 8 MLB players and 3 Negro Leagues players died due to service in World War I. Former Phillies and Giants 3B Eddie Grant played 10 seasons in the Major Leagues and appeared in the 1913 World Series for the NY Giants when they lost to the Philadelphia Athletics. On October 5, 1918, Grant was put in charge of his battalion after his commanding officer had died in France. He has hit by two shells and killed on the battlefield. RHP Bun Troy pitched in just 1 MLB game for the Detroit Tigers in 1915. Though he was born in Germany, he was serving USA in World War I. He also died in France. OF Ralph Sharman was 22 when he got into 13 games for the 1917 Philadelphia Athletics. He was serving in the US Army when he drowned while training in Alabama. Harry Chapman was a catcher who played in three Major Leagues, the AL, NL and the Frontier League (for the St Louis Terriers in 1914 and 1915). He also played for the Chicago Cubs and Cincinnati Reds of the NL and the St Louis Browns of the AL for a total of 147 games over 5 seasons. In fact, prior to the 1914 season, he belonged to the Boston Braves of the NL before jumping to Frontier League. Had he stayed in Boston, he may have been part of the team's only World Series Championship in 1914 and would have been teammates with catcher Hank Gowdy. Gowdy holds the distinction of being the only MLB player to serve in both World Wars. Chapman was killed on 10/21/1918 on the battlefield in Missouri from gun shot wounds. OF Larry Chappell is known for being traded from the White Sox to the Indians as one of the four players traded for Shoeless Joe Jackson. He appeared in a total of 109 games for the White Sox, Indians and Boston Braves over the course of 5 seasons. He died on November 8, 1918 due to the Spanish Flu. C Harry Glenn played 6 games for the 1915 St Louis Cardinals, the same season that HOF 2B Rogers Hornsby made his MLB debut (though they never played in the same game). On the same day that Burr was killed in a plane accident in France (October 12th), the Spanish Flu took the life of Glenn. Newt Halliday was a 1B who got one at bat in a game in 1916 for the Pittsburgh Pirates. He died on April 6, 1918 due to pneumonia while serving in the US Navy in Great Lakes, IL. Norman Triplett was a backup OF for the Negro League's Hilldale Daisies in 1917. On October 20, 1918, he died of a disease while serving his country. Catcher Pearl Webster played in the Negro Legues from 1912-1917 and died as a result of the Spanish Flu on November 16, 1918- less than a week after World War I was over. The only other known Negro Leagues player to die as a result of WWI was Ted Kimbro, who also died of the Spanish Flu. I was interested in talking about all the players who have died serving their country in wars. However, due to the amount of players who passed during WWI, I focused this piece on just that. Stay tuned for more similar discussions.

If you have listen to my baseball show, you will hear me take a couple shots at some things my sabermetric friends miss when calculating baseball with a computer. While the saying goes, "a walk is as good as a hit", it is clear that the player that hits their way on base first will have the longer career. Even in the era that we live in right now. The perfect example is Tony Gwynn, who finished his career with a .338 average and a .388 on base percentage. While the average was legendary, his OBP is not too shabby either. It was also not an indication of a tendency to draw a lot of walks. Tony Gwynn hit his way to a career .388 OBP. I have said all along that on base percentage by itself shows nothing. How many players now a days sit there with their bat on their shoulders and hit .220 or less? They strikeout 150-200 times a season and self proclaimed "baseball experts" say these are good players because they draw a lot of walks? How is that acceptable? If you did that 50+ years ago, one would be out of the league in a year or two. Max Bishop played 12 years in the big leagues from 1924-1935, 10 for the Philadelphia Athletics and 2 for the Boston Red Sox. He was known to have one of the best eyes at the plate the game has ever seen, hence the nickname "Camera Eye". What was the most amazing about what Bishop did was the fact that he had 50 more career hits than walks 1216-1156. Among any player I researched, I could not find another player with as many MLB hits that had less than 200, let alone 100 walks than career hits. To broaden my discussion, I used a players batting average to on base percentage to get a better idea. For example, Gwynn had 3141 hits and 790 walks for a .338 average and .388 on base percentage. (Not factoring in hit by pitches) his OBP is 50 points higher than his batting average. Picking a random player, Brian Downing had 2099 hits, 1197 walks, .267 avg and .370 OBP or a +103 OBP/AVG. Joey Votto is the posterchild for taking the walk as opposed to swinging the bat- he is at 1052 hits, 610 BB, .311 avg. .418 OBP for a +107. Because this is an experiment, I have not tested every player and made it through the players with the 58 highest walk totals in the history of MLB. If you happen to find another player to fit this discussion, either comment after the article or tweet it to me at @john_pielli. The highest OBP/AVG belonged to Bishop at +152. Next was the all time walk leader Barry Bonds who had 2935 hits, 2558 BB, .298 avg, .444 OBP for a +146. Next is a player known as the "walking man," former Senators 3B Eddie Yost, who had 1863 hits, 1614 BB, .254 avg, .394 OBP for a +140. Next would be Ted Williams who had 2654 hit, 2021 walks, .344 avg, .482 OBP for a +138, followed by Babe Ruth who had 2873 hits, 2062 walks, .342 avg, .474 OBP for a +132. The next 5 are all interesting. Mark McGwire is 6th with 1626 hits, 1317 BB, .263 avg, .394 OBP for a +131. 7th is current White Sox DH Adam Dunn who has 1591 hits, 1294 BB, .238 avg, .366 OBP for a +128. Next is Jim Thome at 2328 hits, 1747 BB, .276 avg, .402 OBP for a +126. Next is a tie between Hall of Famer Rickey Henderson who finished with 3055 hits, 2190 BB, .279, .401 and current Indians DH Jason Giambi with 2008 hits, 1361 BB, .277, .399. Both players are +122. Two others I calculated at over +120. Hall of Fame 2B Joe Morgan with 2517 hits, 1865 BB, .271, .392 for a +121 and Harmon Killebrew with 2086 hits, 1559 BB, .256, .376 for a +120. One player I thought would be over 120 was Frank Thomas, but the 2014 HOF 1B/ DH finished with 2468 hits, 1667 BB, .301, .419 for a +118. Just a reminder, if you notice any player qualify I did not mention, please comment or tweet me @john_pielli. Use Bishop's totals of 1216 hits and 1156 walks as minimum of each for the comparison.

Over the past 24 hours, baseball and sports shows have spent a lot of time discussing the playing career of Hall of Fame OF Tony Gwynn, who sadly passed away on Monday at the age of 54. While much has been covered and I would be simply be repeating, I still do not think Gwynn gets the respect for what he accomplished as a baseball player. Based on his amount of career hits (3141- which rank him 19th all time), many baseball analysts and fans put him in a category with a series of other players. I see him in a more profound category than that. How about "the best pure hitter since Ted Williams." The natural answer to that statement is to expect that it is simply an exaggeration. When somebody dies, it is natural for the living to put the recently deceased on a pedestal. While many have taken the time to remember Tony's impact on MLB as well as the city of San Diego, a lot has also been said about his use of smokeless tobacco and how it was likely one of the causes of the cancer that took his life. I think it is a shame that few have looked at his accomplishments and given him the credit he deserves. When Gwynn left this earth, he knew he was one of the better pure hitters of his generation. Perhaps even he did not know he was a once in a generation player. In fact, there has not been a better pure hitter since Ted Williams played from 1939-1961. The sabermetrics community has changed what is deemed good in the game of baseball. The saberers tell players, "Don't swing the bat" and you will be considered a good ballplayer. Players now a days get rewarded for hitting .220 and striking out 150 times for not swinging a bat and taking more walks. They get rewarded with a contract and stay around in the major leagues just because of their on base percentage. What many would not see in Tony Gwynn by simply looking at his stats was his "hit first" mentality which led to his high career batting average. Though he did have a keen eye on the strike zone, his thought was to always look for a pitch to hit. Something a player is looked down upon in the game today. Of course, one thing that stands out about the career of Tony Gwynn is the fact that he barely struck out. In 10,232 plate appearances, he struck out just 434 times. You had to go back to the days of Williams and Joe DiMaggio to see a player strikeout at such a low rate. His career .388 OBP gets some credit from the saber community, but not for the popular reason. Gwynn hit himself to his career OBP, which happens to be the 112th all time. Outside of his 82 walk 1987 season, his highest career total was 59 in 1984. He walked 760 times in his 19 year career, an average of 40 times a season. He averaged just 23 strikeouts a season, so the conclusion can be made that Gwynn hit his way on base and took pride in making contact. That is what makes his career batting average so impressive. Gwynn hit .3382 for his career. That ranks in a tie for 18th all time in MLB history. Gwynn is tied with Jesse Burkett and Napoleon Lajoie for the 18th-19th and 20th highest batting averages in the history of major league baseball. That does not seem like a big deal. But look at the players who rank ahead of him. Take Ted Williams (.3444- tied to 7th all time) out of the equation and there is not another player that ranks in the top 20 all time averages that played passed the year 1939! Lou Gehrig (.3401- 16th all time) retired during the 1939 season. 6 players in the top 20 (Rogers Hornsby, Lefty O'Doul, Babe Ruth, Bill Terry, George Sisler and Harry Heilmann) retired between the year of 1930-1936. Ty Cobb and Tris Speaker stopped playing after the 1928 season. Shoeless Joe Jackson was banned for life after the 1920 season. Napoleon Lajoie retired after the 1916 season. Willie Keeler after 1910. 4 players in the top 20 stopped playing from 1900-1905 (Billy Hamilton, Jesse Burkett, Dan Brouthers and Ed Delahanty). Dave Orr and Pete Browing stopped playing before 1900. If that does not put Gwynn in a category by himself, I do not know what else will. Where is the player that compiled a .338+ career batting average since 1961? And other than Williams, where is that player that compiled a .338+ career batting average since 1940? That player does not exist. The problem is that we judge a baseball player's playing career based on home runs. Now, because of the use of PEDs in the game, even some of the all time home run hitters are not getting the credit they deserve. Perhaps the difficulty of hitting for such a high career average is something we now take for granted. Because of that, we lump Gwynn in the same category as Paul Moltor, Cal Ripken, Dave Winfield, Derek Jeter and others who finished with around the same career hits. Yes, players like Rod Carew (.3279) and Wade Boggs (.3278) should get nearly as much credit as Gwynn, but in my opinion, the prior 4 mentioned are not nearly as accompilshed hitters as Gwynn was.

Last year, our country was hit with another devastating terroristic attack, this time at the Boston Marathon as three people were killed and 264 more were injured. Sports are a sanctuary which allow some to temporarily drift off and pay attention to something else which they go through a tough time. Of course, any satisfaction gained through a sporting event is only temporary, as the acts of any event that causes the loss of life can never replace the lives lost. An act like the bombing last April 15th in Boston will always be towards the top of the memories of those impacted. The city of Boston rose strong and did a hell of a job in the immediate and succeeding time after the bombing occurred. "Boston Strong" became a slogan which the entire city has carried out. It is the symbol of the unity shown which reinforces the fact that even though a terrible act has happened, the city can unite in support of the right cause. The Boston Red Sox winning the 2013 World Series was fitting because it can be remembered as a tribute to the terrible acts on this date in 2013. The majority of baseball fans know three five major things about the history of baseball in Boston. First is the fact that the Red Sox have won the World Series in 3 of the last 10 seasons (2004, 2007, 2013). Next is the fact that the team did not win the World Series between the years of 1918 and 2004. Many know the fact that Babe Ruth was sold to the Yankees for $125,000 or $100,000 (depending on your method of research). Finally, common knowledge exists of the Red Sox AL Pennants in 1967, 1975 and 1986 with big chances to win the series in 1975 and 1986. In addition, many know about the former National League baseball club in Boston, the Braves, who moved to Milwaukee after the 1952 season and are now known as the Atlanta Braves. Baseball in Boston did not start with the Red Sox, it started with the Red Stockings. It may not be as simple as you think. The Red Stockings of 1876 were the first major league team in Boston and represented the National League team. What would later become the Braves finished in 4th place out of 8 teams in 1876 with a record of 39-31. The team would finish in 1st place the next two seasons and remained the Red Stockings through the 1882 season. They became the Beaneaters in 1883 and finished in 1st place 6 more times through the 1898 season. This included the first Championship Series which happened in 1892 when the 1st place Beaneaters defeated the 2nd place Cleveland Spiders in 6 games (5-0-1). The Beaneaters kept their nickname through the 1906 season, where they became the Boston Doves through 1910, the Boston Rustlers in 1911 and the Boston Braves from 1912-1952. They brought the World Series Championship in 1914 and the NL Pennant in 1948. All in all, National League Baseball in Boston lasted 77 years, from 1876-1952. The American League started its business in 1901, with the Boston Americans one of the 8 original teams. A couple seasons later (1903), the National and American Leagues decided to put its top teams against each other to play in something called the "World Series." The Americans won the AL in 1903 and participated in the first World Series against the NL's Pittsburgh Pirates. The 91-47 Americans defeated the 91-49 Pirates 5 games to 3 in the best of 9. The first World Series home run was given up by Americans RHP Cy Young, to Pirates RF Jimmy Sebring. The Pirates won the first ever WS game, 7-3, with the American taking 5 of the next 7 games to win the series. Pirates RHP Decon Phillippe started and completed 5 of the 8 games of the series, one in which Honus Wagner led the way for the Pirates. Young and Wagner were two of the four Hall of Famers to play in the game; the other two were each of the teams player managers Jimmy Collins and Fred Clarke. In addition, two umpires of the first World Series, Tom Connolly and Hank O'Day, would later be enshrined into the Hall (O'Day in 2013). The Red Sox were the most successful team in all of MLB during the beginning of the World Series era. Their championships in 1903, 1912, 1915, 1916 and 1918 gave them 5 of the first 15 World Series Championships. No other team had won more than 3, with the NL's Philadelphia Athletics winning in 1911, 1913 and 1914. The Chicago Cubs were the only MLB team to win two World Series through 1918. Adding in the Boston Braves Championship of 1914, Boston won 6 of the first 15 World Series. In addition to the Braves returning to the World Series in 1948, where they lost to the Indians, the Red Sox won the AL Pennant in 1946, losing to the St Louis Cardinals. Hall of Famers Warren Spahn (1942, 1946-1952) and Eddie Matthews (1952) played for the Boston Braves and Hank Aaron was signed by the Boston Braves in 1952 before spending his career in Milwaukee and Atlanta. The Red Sox have retired seven numbers, including Hall of Famers Joe Cronin, Bobby Doerr, Ted Williams, Carlton Fisk, Johnny Pesky and Carl Yastrzemski. Boston has a huge place in baseball history. Not just with the Red Sox, but with the early history of the Americans as well as its longer history in the National League.